SCRUPULOSITY : RELIGION AND OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN
WAYNE M. WEISNER M.D.1, and
PIUS ANTHONY RIFFEL S.J., M.A.2
1 Medical Director, St. Charles Child Guidance Clinic, Brooklyn, N. Y.
2 Staff Psychologist, St. Charles Child Guidance Clinic, Brooklyn, N. Y.
In this paper, a clearer picture of severe chronic scrupulosity as a pathological condition is presented. Children actually referred to a child guidance clinic for their scrupulosity are seriously disturbed. What became clear to us was that the scrupulous children presented a consistent picture in terms of symptoms and underlying personality traits. It usually appears as an obsessive compulsive disturbance involving fears and doubts. However, the constriction and inhibitions of these scrupulous children were frequently indicative of a schizoid personality and, in some instances, of an underlying schizophrenic matrix. This consistent picture of the scrupulous child which emerged from our research, enabled us to obtain a more immediate and fuller understanding of any new child referred to our clinic for his scrupulosity, and to work with the scrupulous child in a more confident and effective manner.
